HYBRID TRUCKS GAIN TRACTION.

Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard

Hybrids aren't just for the Prius set any more.

The first generation of hybrid-diesel trucks are starting to hit the road, including two in Oregon set to go into service later this month. Organically Grown Co., the Eugene-based produce distributor, and Portland General Electric are both about to add hybrid trucks to their fleets.

The medium-duty, hybrid trucks are drawing strong interest from delivery firms, municipalities, utilities and the military for the same reason that hybrid cars have taken off with consumers in recent years: improved fuel economy and reduced emissions.

Kenworth and Peterbilt, both owned by Paccar Inc. in Bellevue, Portland-based Freightliner, Mack Trucks Inc. and International Truck and Engine are all testing medium-duty hybrid trucks this year with plans to begin production models soon.

They use hybrid-diesel systems that are up to 35 percent more fuel efficient than conventional diesel power plants - a savings that could put a serious dent in the 38 billion gallons of diesel burned each year by the U.S. trucking industry.

Organically Grown will use a medium-duty Kenworth hybrid for in-town deliveries at its Clackamas facility, said Chris Petrick, its transportation supervisor. "Our approach has always been ahead of the curve," he said. "We were doing organic long before it was a household word. Our philosophy is to be a leading sustainable organization."

Organically Grown will lease the truck from Roberts Motor Co., a Portland Kenworth dealer that has had an outlet in Eugene since 1959. When Roberts learned that hybrid test vehicles would become available, they thought first of Organically Grown, said Kevin Comstock, the dealership's director of service operations.

"They've been a customer for a long time and we know how green they are," he said.

The Kenworth hybrid is expected to deliver up to 30 percent greater fuel efficiency compared to a conventional model, the company says.

Organically Grown plans to use biodiesel in the hybrid as it does with its other trucks, Petrick said, although Roberts officials are lukewarm on the idea. "They gave us the go-ahead to do that, at our own risk," Petrick said. "They don't know what to expect from the hybrid. They're approaching it with extreme caution."

"It's not recommended because it's so new," said Dirk Sullivan, a regional manager for Eaton, a Cleveland-based company that builds hybrid components for truck makers.

Portland General Electric, meanwhile, is about to add an International hybrid rig to its fleet of of 142 bucket trucks as a pilot project, spokesman Mark Fryeberg said. The utility is interested in potential cost savings of a hybrid as well as the environmental benefits, he said.

Likewise, the Thurston County Public Works Department in Washington state is waiting for its first hybrid-electric truck, a Kenworth equipped with a hydraulic bucket on the back, said Dick Weston, the county's fleet and technical services manager.

In addition to getting improved mileage and emitting fewer pollutants than a conventional truck, the electric motor in the hybrid truck is used to power the bucket for up to two hours, he said. That means the diesel engine can be shut off, instead of idling while a worker uses the bucket.

"That's one of the main benefits of this truck," he said.

Kenworth officials say they don't yet have a retail price for the hybrid truck, but Thurston County is paying $73,000 for the chassis - meaning the cab and powertrain - about $1,000 more than what it would pay for a conventional truck, although Weston said the price reflects a significant discount for being among the first to field-test a hybrid.

"Until you own one and operate one you don't have firsthand experience of what that might do for your agency," he said. "We decided to bite the bullet and try this one and give it a good test."

Eugene Water and Electric Board has no immediate plans to buy hybrid trucks for its fleet, but it is interested in the technology and how it holds up under heavy use, spokesman Lance Robertson said.

"We're using these bucket trucks every day and all day," he said. "If (hybrids) can be proven to save fuel and be durable and meet our needs, we'll probably try to budget at least a couple into a future budget."

EWEB is about to double the number of hybrid passenger vehicles in its fleet from four to eight, Robertson said.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which operates the nation's second-largest truck fleet, recently said it was buying a Peterbilt hybrid truck as part of its "Sustainability 360" program to promote environmental stewardship.

The technology driving hybrid trucks runs on the same general principle as that used in hybrid passenger vehicles. A standard internal combustion engine is mated to a battery-powered electric motor. Using the brakes charges the batteries used to power the electric motor. The system works best in stop-and-go, around-town driving because the electric motor can carry most of the load. Under heavy acceleration, and at faster speeds, the diesel engine kicks in.

Paccar has about 200 Kenworth and Peterbilt test hybrid trucks in use across the United States today, and plans to start mass production of the medium-duty vehicles next year, company spokesman Robin Easton said.

Paccar decided to start offering hybrid trucks because "it's a profitable proposition," customers want them, and the company wants to offer "environmentally friendly options," Easton said.

International Truck and Engine, based outside Chicago, has been field-testing about 24 hybrid trucks with customers for about a year and plans to start production later this year, spokesman Dane Roth said.

Within two or three years, the big truck builders are expected to ramp up production of hybrid trucks to 5,000 to 10,000 a year - not a big number in the automotive industry, but a significant volume in the truck industry, said Bill Van Amburg, senior vice president for WestStart, a nonprofit group that promotes advanced transportation technology.

In the commercial world, early applications for hybrid technology are for garbage, delivery and hydraulic lift trucks, he said.

The next step is putting hybrid technology to use in long-haul trucks, he said. While the hybrids are less useful when cruising on an interstate at 70 mph, the technology could provide significant fuel savings when trucks drive into cities and when going up and down grades, he said. In addition, the electric motor can power air-conditioning and the electrical system when truckers are at rest, enabling them to shut down their noisy, polluting diesel engines.

The U.S. Army also is interested in hybrid technology for its trucks because it means they can carry less fuel into the battlefield, Van Amburg said. Fuel is the single-biggest weight moved by Army trucks, he said.

Army officials also want to be able to turn off diesel engines and let the electric motors power air-conditioning and electronic defense systems, he said.

Hybrid technology also is being put to use in delivery step vans by FedEx and UPS in the United States and Purolator Courier in Canada, he said. FedEx has about 93 hybrid vans on the road, while UPS has about 50. Purolator has 115 hybrids on order.

It isn't just the trucking industry that is looking at putting hybrids to use. Hybrid power plants also are being used in transit and school buses.

Buses were the first use of heavy hybrid technology, Van Amburg said, and the federal government subsidizes transit bus purchases. "Most major cities have some hybrid buses.'

King County Metro is the national leader, with 225 hybrid buses on the road and another 500 on order.

Lane Transit District's six new EmX buses that went into service in January have hybrid diesel-electric power plants, spokesman Andy Vobora said. The transit agency also has five 60-foot articulated, hybrid buses on order that it expects to put into service this fall, he said.